A review of public records by the San Diego Union-Tribune found that since 2000, four grand jury reports emphasized the risks of human waste on San Diego's streets and a shortage of toilets for the growing homeless.
One report filed in 2010 warned that than an outbreak of illness caused by unsanitary conditions "could result in liability to the city.”
Each report called on the city of San Diego to either add more public all-hours restrooms, or beef up the street cleaning to ensure the public wouldn't come in contact with human waste.
The city's hepatitis A crisis has resulted in 444 cases, leaving 16 dead and more than 300 hospitalized. This month San Diego added new bathrooms to the downtown area and started more street cleaning.
Could our area be next? With the explosion of homeless camps in the Santa Ana riverbed, we could very well see a nasty outbreak there.